This invention relates to a floor covering suitable for use as an entrance mat and to a method of manufacture of said floor covering.
A floor covering for use as an entrance mat needs a heavily textured upwardly facing surface having wiper regions to remove dirt and moisture from footwear and recess regions to receive collected dirt pending periodic cleaning. One such type of floor covering in the form of an entree mat is described in assignee's published British Application GB-A-2258624A. The mat comprises a plurality of first strips of substantially rigid material, for example of aluminium or a plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene, and a plurality Of second strips of substantially resilient and flexible material such as natural or synthetic rubber which support a fibrous tread surface, the second strips being interposed alternately between the first strips and the first and second strips being secured together in side-by-side relationship by means of one or more connecting elements, such as wires, which pass through aligned apertures in the first and second strips.
In the aforedescribed construction the fibrous tread surfaces of the second strips serve primarily as wiper regions to support footwear passing thereover and perform a cleaning action whereas the recess regions provided by the first strips between respective neighbouring pairs of second strips serve as collector grooves in which dirt may gather for subsequent removal during a mat cleaning operation.
Commonly the first, substantially rigid, strips are of an H-shape in cross-section with the cross piece of the H, in use, lying vertically in the direction of the thickness of the matting. Said cross piece is provided with apertures through which the connecting elements pass, and the edges of the side pieces of the H formation abut adjacent flexible second strips. Alternatively they are commonly of half an H shape, i.e. a C type shape.
Conventionally each said second strip has an embedded reinforcement of one or more layers of fabric arranged to lie substantially transverse to the plane of the mat and the surface of the rubber or like substantially resilient material is removed from a face of the strip which is to define the tread surface so as to expose the fibres and provide a fibrous tread surface. The embedded reinforcement provides the strip with a good degree of stiffness so that it resists deformation when subject to load.
The resulting mat with a fibrous tread surface as described in the preceding paragraph is found to exhibit excellent wear characteristics even in conditions of arduous use, and to remain effective in providing a cleaning action. However the mat is labour intensive in manufacture.
The construction of the said second strips of embedded reinforcement contributes to excellent wear characteristics and deformation resistance, but that material is expensive.